Mahabbah Love Khalisa

7

The distinctive aroma of candles was pouring out around the building used by the mothers of batik artisans in Giriloyo Village. They looked seriously writing the dye liquid on the pattern of mori cloth using canting. On average they are housewives in their 50s who are still productive making batik.

"Assalamualaikum, ma'am." Azfan said a greeting that was immediately answered in unison by mothers who were busy battering. They caught a glimpse of Azfan and his friends and refocused on the patterned mori cloth before it was written with natural dye from the soga tree. Azfan circulated a look looking for his mother figure but there was none.

"Your mother hasn't come here, Fan, busy cooking because you want to come." Tukas one of them seemed to understand the thoughts of Azfan.

"Tumbent." Azfan murmured slowly, did not he come almost once a week and his mother never took off batik just for cooking. After all there Galuh his brother-in-law who used to cook. "Let's go to my house first." Azfan said to Khalisa, Rindang and Jason.

"Azfan I'm here first and I want to see the mbatik mothers." Rindang.

"Well, come with me and go to the toilet at Azfan's house." Khalisa said, he had been holding his pee since he just left earlier.

"Yes, I'll be with Jason."

"Say you'll be alone." Khalisa squinted his eyes at Rindang.

"That can't be suudzon." Omel Rindang, that is the sentence that Khalisa always said when he prejudiced others, surely Khalisa would say should husnudzon be a tuh.

Khalisa laughed, "pinter is you now."

"There's a rush to bedwetting later I'm also the hard one."

"But!" Khalisa's ticking, you Rindang!

"My house is the last one." Azfan tells Rindang and Jason if they want to catch up later.

"okay!" Rindang brandished his thumb as he stepped closer to the mothers of batik craftsmen with Jason.

"Assynnya!" Azfan said his greetings when he arrived in front of a minimalist house with white and gray paint.

Khalisa circulated the view around the house, a row of roses seemed to be planted neatly around the front wall. While on the terrace are many types of ornamental plants grown in white pots. Khalisa sure if his mama is here would be excited himself to see the beautiful flowers. Unfortunately, Khalisa does not like to care for flowers unlike his mama who likes to collect ornamental plants to fill their home page.

"Mosur." Someone was heard answering greetings. The door opened along with the appearance of a thin man who was at a glance similar to Azfan, only he looked several years older than Azfan.

"Mas." Azfan kissed the man's hand, "this is Mas Adi, my brother." Azfan introduced Adi to Khalisa.

"Let's go in." Adi invited them in, "Mother is behind Fan."

Azfan's house although simple but looks very clean and neat as if the residents clean it at any time without letting the dust stick even if only a speck.

Khalisa could smell the spice from cooking as he entered the house deeper. Khalisa dare to guarantee that Azfan's mother is cooking chicken soto or maybe meat soto.

"This is the bathroom, I saw Mom in the kitchen." Azfan opened the bathroom door near the dining room to let Khalisa in.

"Mother." Azfan grabbed his mother's shoulder from behind.

"Azfan, I don't hear you coming." The 50-year-old woman wearing a batik negligee and a pink headscarf turned her back on her activity of stirring meat soto in a pot.

"Mother is too serious to cook so do not Denger Azfan come, Shafa's lonely house just like Marwah where Mom?" Azfan asked his two younger sisters who had not been seen since he arrived. Shafa is the third child in the Azfan family, currently he sits in 11th grade High School while Marwah the youngest brother is new 6th grade Elementary School.

"Say want to nyari kale same genjer in the rice field has not come home until now."

"Kok Mommy cooks a lot?" Azfan kissed the back of his mother's hand that was saffron-flavored.

"You'll bring your friends, when you don't cook for them." Azfan's mother again stirred the soto and turned off the stove after the meat was cooked enough.

"Thank you, Mother." Azfan kissed his mother's cheek as an expression of gratitude for bothering to cook for his friends. Azfan only brought three people but his mother was busy cooking a lot of food.

"Where are you?" He looked towards the kitchen door looking for the whereabouts of the friends Azfan was talking about.

"There's one outside looking at the mbatik mothers, the other in the bathroom."

"Try incip." Azfan's mother scoops the soto sauce and draws it closer to Azfan's mouth.

Azfan flicked his hand at the spoon before welcoming his mother's feed with pleasure, he closed his eyes feeling the savory taste of the beef broth with pepper, orange leaves, bay leaves, lemongrass and other herbs.

"Excuse me." The voice made Azfan and his mother turn their heads. "Sorry Mom, can I come in?" He is Khalisa who just came out of the bathroom and went straight to the kitchen because of the curious aroma that made him so tempted.

"That's all right, so this is Azfan's victory." Azfan's mother approached Khalisa.

"Yes Ma'am I'm Khalisa, sorry to disturb the activities of the mothers here." Khalisa shakes Azfan's hand politely.

Azfan stepped towards the sink to wash the dishes he had just used to taste the soup while Khalisa stood beside his mother.

"No, usually there are also many who come here sometimes can one bus, Khalisa like to cook?"

"Like." Khalisa mangosteen, because he had to stay away from automatic parents he loved to cook. In addition, Khalisa often joined Renata cooking since childhood to make him accustomed to it until now. "Mother cook meat soto?" Khalisa has been curious since he first entered this house.

"Yes, you should try Mom's cooking soon."

"Mom's taste must be good."

"Where are you going, Mom?" Azfan just realized that his brother-in-law was invisible. "Games don't exist either." Agam was the nephew of Azfan, Adi and Galuh's 3-year-old son.

"Your sister went to the stall and I told her to buy tea, Agam came too."

"Yes, oh yeah I forgot!" Azfan's mother patted his eel, "Mom forgot not to tell Galuh buy sugar all at once, Azfan you sucked there on the motorbike pity he walked with a sling Agam too."

"Aaaah astagfirullah!" Khalisa screamed when he felt something hairy rub against his feet, he also heard meow, who else would sound meow if not a cat. Khalisa spontaneously jumped to the right of Azfan's mother to see a gray-haired cat near her feet. "Well, Mom, why are there cats!" Khalisa whined in fear.

"Khalisa, are you afraid of cats?" Azfan was surprised to hear Khalisa scream, he immediately raised Chimmy— his cat name.

Khalisa nodded, despite not having any trauma to the cat but since childhood he was indeed afraid of the furry animal.

"Yes I've brought out the cat and then Ma'am Galuh to the stall." Azfan stepped out of the kitchen carrying Chimmy, Shafa and Marwah's favorite gray cat.

No answer from Azfan was heard, maybe he had run far out of the house to not hear his mother's question.

"The bar is far away, ma'am?" Khalisa returned to his position after making sure there were no other cats in the kitchen.

"When you walk, anyone now who walks even a decket, must ride a bike." Azfan's mother moved the meat soto into a bowl and sprinkled the finely cut celery on it.

"You've known Azfan for a long time?" Ask Mom.

Khalisa shook his head, "it doesn't seem like a week, why?"

"Oh yeah? This is the first time Azfan brought his friends home, he rarely has friends because his son is shy and easily inferior." The slightly fat woman stepped into the dining room adjacent to the kitchen followed by Khalisa.

"Azfan is actually one of my community Mom, he is also a member of HAWASI but I just found out when we met at the mosque."

"Wait another one, let's talk behind the house you'll love there." Ms. Azfan took Khalisa to the back of the house with a new Dersana Guava picked this morning, Javanese people usually call it Darsono Guava.

Khalisa flabbergasted treated to a beautiful view of green rice fields and cool even though it was daytime. Ms. Azfan sat in a gazebo that directly faced the rice fields and trenches whose clear water flowed smoothly without any plastic waste.

"Azfan's son is a hard worker, he can rarely get together because he has to work after college." Azfan's mother continued the story after Khalisa sat down beside her. "Mother pity look at him but want how again since his Father died, Mother's income from batik is only enough for the cost of eating and school his sisters."

Khalisa looked at Azfan's mother whose eyes glazed over, he was compassionate but did not show it in the least. Khalisa so remember his mother also had to work while studying, he was lucky because there was no need to bother looking for money because all his needs were met by Daniel and Ica.

"I'm sure Azfan did it all because he liked it not because he was forced, he had an extraordinary writing talent to produce beautiful calligraphy, if not happy Azfan would definitely not do it." Khalisa tried to encourage Azfan's mother by holding the middle-aged woman's hand.

******

The saliva flooding into Khalisa's mouth saw different types of dishes on the table, all of them looking tantalizing. It feels like Khalisa wants to eat them all but shy—since when did he have any embarrassment? so Rindang question yesterday but he did have a shame from birth. Shame is part of the Muslim world.

Everyone gathered around the dining table, it was a rare moment in the family because Azfan could only go home once a week or two. Khalisa, Rindang and Jason also added to the family atmosphere that afternoon.

"God willing, Khalisa's hands are very white." Marwah's voice made others smile because of her innocence, she accidentally came into contact with Khalisa when he was about to take fried tofu.

"Yes white is not like you who like to play in the rice fields so burnt his skin." Reply Mother.

"Other times invite Mbak to the rice field yes let your skin like Mbak." Khalisa said to Marwah who was sitting right next to him.

"What's wrong, Miss Khalisa wants brown skin like me?"

"Yes, I want to be pretty like you." Khalisa pinched Marwah's cheek, so he remembered Zunaira who was always the most beautiful at home.

Marwah blushed pretty praised by Khalisa. Azfan also smiled at Khalisa's praise, the girl is indeed an expert when it comes to praising others.

"Udah let's eat." Ask Mother to have everyone eat before the cooking at the table gets cold.

Rindang brought his own food because he could not eat carelessly, he was sure all the dishes contained a lot of sugar. Rindang had already told about his condition in advance so as not to make them confused.

"Rindang has been sick for a long time?" Azfan asked Khalisa, they were in the gazebo behind the house after lunch together to enjoy the freshness of the soft and water-filled dersana guava.

"He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago." Khalisa looked straight ahead to see Rindang who had walked far ahead through the rice field with Jason.

"Is that why you're taking the pharmaceutical field?" Azfan glanced at Khalisa, from the tail of his eyes he saw Khalisa turning to him.

Khalisa seemed surprised for a moment because Azfan immediately knew the reason for the pharmaceutical lecture. When I first knew Rindang was diagnosed with diabetes, Khalisa was determined to take up the field of pharmacy prodi. Rindang was the main reason for Khalisa but he hid it because he did not want to make Rindang sadder.

"That's one of them, besides that I'm also in charge of the hospital in Banyuwangi."

"So you really have a hospital?" Azfan turned his head, "sorry I mean at that time I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you and Mas Levin." Azfan added before Khalisa thought a no-no.

Khalisa laughed at Azfan's nervous expression, "even though you don't have the intention to sniff out our conversation, the hospital was a gift from Akong when I and my cousin Kafa were 3 years old."

"The gift of the rich is different, you not only give a gift of bags or shoes but a hospital."

"Khalisa! Wo ai ni!" Rindang shouted waving at Khalisa, his arms raised forming a love above the head.

Khalisa laughed back at Rindang's hand, "wo bu ai ni!" The reply made Rindang sneer before going back a step further.

"Khalisa, you're a convert?" Azfan turned to Khalisa for a moment, it was one of the questions lodged in Azfan's head since knowing Khalisa.

"I was born a Muslim, my Papa converted while my Muslim mother was born."

"I'm sorry I asked too many questions." Azfan regretted asking this question, he should not have asked about Khalisa's personal life.

"It's okay." Khalisa shook his head, he was not at all bothered by Azfan's question. "By the way your name looks like my mom's friend." Khalisa immediately switched the conversation so that Azfan was not awkward anymore.

"Who?"

"His name is Arfan, his full name is Arfan Khalif Ahmad while your name is Azfan Khuffa Ameezan." Khalisa accidentally saw the name on the HAWASI member list yesterday. Khalisa has a particular obsession with the names of people, as if he collected their names and remembered them forever. "Azfan and Arfan are just one letter apart."

"Do you know my full name?"

"Know dong, once you see I won't be able to forget."

"Why?"

Khalisa raised his shoulders, "I can't forget the names of people I've known."

Azfan looked straight ahead at the expanse of rice fields that were still green. Whether what was on his mind, the more he knew about Khalisa the question in Azfan's head also piled up. But Azfan only dared to guess and answer it himself without daring to ask it directly.

Khalisa and Mama Ica are young!